In a significant legal development, a federal judge in Florida has dismissed professional golfer Patrick Reed’s $750 million defamation lawsuits against various defendants, including the Golf Channel, acclaimed commentators, and other golf writers and media outlets.
Patrick Reed's insanely huge defamation lawsuits were dismissed. https://t.co/UGtPwaRQav
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 28, 2023
U.S. District Court Judge Timothy J. Corrigan concluded that Reed’s complaints in both lawsuits failed to provide sufficient evidence of actual malice by the defendants, which is essential for defamation claims.
Reed initially filed his lawsuit during the PGA Tour-LIV Golf feud in Texas in August 2022 and later refiled it in Florida a month later. The lawsuits accused multiple defendants of engaging in a conspiracy, defamation, injurious falsehood, and tortious interference.
Reed’s attorney, Larry Klayman, alleged that the defendants, including the Gannett Co., The Associated Press, and Fox Sports, conspired to destroy the upstart LIV Golf Tour, Reed, and his fellow LIV Golf players in order to eliminate competition with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour.
According to a news release from Reed’s attorney, the complaints argued that the defendants engaged in anticompetitive conduct and practices to undermine LIV Golf and tarnish Reed’s reputation.
The defendants purportedly referred to Reed as a “cheater, liar, a thief, a murderer, and someone who accepts blood money from terrorists.”
Although the defamation lawsuits have been dismissed, Judge Corrigan has yet to rule on whether the defendants will be entitled to recover attorney’s fees and court costs from Reed.
